Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to waive business rates for retail and leisure property until September 2021.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Budget announced a three-month extension to the business rates holiday for eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors that was provided at Budget 2020. This means over 350,000 properties will pay no business rates for three months.
From 1 July 2021, 66% relief will be available subject to a cash cap that depends on whether businesses have been required to close or were able to open. This additional relief takes the total value of support in 2021-22 to £6 billion and means the vast majority of businesses will on average receive 75% relief across the year.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will announce a pay rise for NHS staff and other public sector workers in Budget 2021.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In order to protect jobs and ensure fairness, we confirmed at the Spending Review (2020) that there will be a pause to headline pay rises for the majority of public sector workforces in 2021-22.
Given the unique impact of Covid-19 on our health service, Government will continue to provide for pay rises for over 1 million NHS workers. The NHS and Doctor and Dentists’ Pay Review Bodies will report as usual for 2021/22, and the Government will respond to their recommendations. The government will also prioritise the lowest paid, with public sector workers earning less than £24,000 in basic pay receiving a minimum £250 pro-rata increase. The Pay Review Bodies will advise on how this should be implemented for the relevant workforces.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will maintain the Social Investment Tax Relief; and if he will take steps to reform that relief so that enterprises in community energy and tackling climate change qualify for investment.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) was introduced in 2014 to incentivise risk finance investments in qualifying social enterprises and charities. In order to target SITR towards the highest-risk social enterprises, certain activities are excluded from the scheme, including community energy.
HMRC statistics show that up to 2018-19, about 110 enterprises have used the scheme to raise £11.2 million.
The Government keeps all taxes and reliefs under review in order to ensure they continue to meet policy objectives in a way that is fair and effective. The Government previously published a Call for Evidence in 2019 on SITR’s use to date. A response to the consultation will be published in due course and a decision on SITR’s future will be announced at the Budget.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend the reduced 5 per cent VAT rate on admission charges to attractions beyond 31 March 2021.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The temporary reduced rate of VAT was introduced on 15 July to support the cash flow and viability of over 150,000 businesses and protect 2.4 million jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors, and will run until 31 March 2021.
This policy will cost over £2 billion. The Government keeps all taxes under review, and any future decisions on tax policy will be made at Budget.
The Government has announced a significant support package to help businesses from a whole range of sectors through the winter months, which includes an extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, an extension of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant, and an extension of the application window for the Government-backed loan schemes.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to progress a directors’ income support scheme package for directors of limited companies.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government always welcomes constructive proposals from stakeholders to improve the design of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), including the suggestion for a Directors Income Support Scheme (DISS) from the Federation of Small Businesses, ForgottenLtd, Re Legal Consulting Ltd, and ACCA UK. This proposal aims to provide a new system for company directors, based on reported profits. The Government has considered this proposal in detail.
The DISS, as currently framed, is intrinsically reliant on self-certification. As the Government cannot readily verify this information, an effect of this reliance on self-certification is to open the scheme up to an unacceptable level of fraud by organised criminal groups and others who would seek to exploit the scheme. The Government cannot expose the tax system to these risks but continues to engage with the FSB regarding these concerns.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he provide ongoing financial support to the self-employed through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme in the period between the end of the third grant in January 2021 and his budget statement on the fourth grant on 3 March 2021.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is committed to supporting the self-employed population during the COVID-19 pandemic through a substantial package of support.
The three Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grants combined provided up to £21,570 of support for each individual, placing the SEISS among the most generous schemes for the self-employed in the world. As of 31 December, about 2.7 million individuals have made claims totalling over £18.9 billion so far across all three grants.
The claims window for the third grant closed on 29 January 2021. Further details of the fourth grant, which will cover February to the end of April, will be announced alongside other economic updates at Budget in March.
The SEISS continues to be just one element of a substantial package of support for the self-employed which includes Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential the merits of extending the hospitality industry’s VAT reduction to include wine and spirit sales.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The temporary reduced rate of VAT was introduced on 15 July to support the cash flow and viability of over 150,000 businesses and protect 2.4 million jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors, and will run until 31 March 2021.
This policy will cost over £2 billion and it is necessary for a boundary for eligibility to be drawn. The Government keeps all taxes under review, and any future decisions on tax policy will be made at Budget.
The Government has announced a significant support package to help businesses from a whole range of sectors through the winter months, which includes an extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, an extension of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant, and an extension of the application window for the Government-backed loan schemes. Alcohol duty was frozen at Budget 2020 to help pubs and the alcoholic drinks sector.